Improvement in sails for vessels



l. C. NICHOLS. Sails for Vessels. No.l57,862. PatentedDec.l5,l874.

THE GRAFIQIC W. VHOTO-LIT(.39& H PARR FLACEJLY.

'NrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. NICHOLS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SAILS FOR VESSELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 157,862, datedDecember 15, 1874 application filed September 12, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES C. NICHOLS, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Rigging Vessels, of which the following is aspecification The invention will first be fully described, and thenpointed out in the claim.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention, it being an elevationof the mast with topmast and sails arranged according to my invention.

A represents the mast. B is the topmast. G is the mainsail. D is theboom. E is a horizontal gaff, attached to the mast in the usual manner,to which is attached an iron rod, F, running parallel withthe gaff, andsupporting the upper edge of the mainsail by means of rings G. The boomD is provided. with a similar iron rod, H, and the sail is attached toit in the same manner, or by the rings 1. This sail is attached to themast by means of the hoops J. K are reefing-ropes, which are attached tothe halyards L in clusters of three, (more or less,) which allows thesail to be reefed to the mast instead of the boom. The shorterreeling-ropes, m, (seen in dotted lines,) are connected with halyards insimilar manner, and the entire sail is drawn horizontally toward themast by the ropes N. These ropes are attached to the edge of the sail,as seen at O O, and are on each side of the sail, and serve as stays tosupport it. P is a stay-rope attached to the end of the boom, running tothe mast in a diagonal direction across the sail, and is attached to themast at the point Q, from which point the halyard descends to the deck.P is a rope for spreading the mainsail 0, and passes around thepulley-block G. The sail B, it will be seen, is entirely separate fromthe mainsail, and is reefed to the gaff,

being connected with the mast by the rod S and rings T, and confined tothe gait by the ropes a. V are the reefing-ropes, attached to staples inthe gaff, and passing up they pass through rings W in the upper edge,and then descend and pass through rings X in the gait and descend to thedeck.

This sail is spread and held in position by the rope Y, which isattached to the upper corner, and passes over the block Z, and thendescends to the deck.

The gaff is supported in a horizontal position by the chain a, which isattached to the end of the gait and to the mast, as seen at b.

c isthe topsail, which is spread by the rope d, and is reefed to thechain, if desired.

By this mode of rigging the upper sails are readily taken in, and onlyrequire to be brailed up, as no furling is necessary, and the vesselwould be under single-reefed sails at once, which, in squally weather,would be a great advantage.

These sails can be spread in one-fourth part of the time that isordinarily required.

By this method the sails are made less liable to be torn or obstructedwith icein winter; and all the sails being operated from the deck theadvantage of this method must be apparent to all.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- The combination, with the gaff of a fore'andaft sail,of the independent sail B, connected with the mast by means of the rod Sand rings T, and adapted to be furled to the gait, as and for thepurpose set forth.

JAMES C. NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

T. B. MOSHER, ALEX. F. ROBERTS.

